Iglesia de Santa María de la Oliva, Villaviciosa, Spain

Iglesia de Santa María de la Oliva is a 13th-century stone church in Villaviciosa. The stone Gothic church was completed in the Spanish Gothic style in the 1270s.

Religious sites in Spain

User Reviews

Stuart McCleane (11 months ago)
Beautiful romanesque church located in a rundown but delightful plaza in the heart of Villaviciosa and on the Camino de Primitivo route to Santiago de Compostela.

Jose Maria Romero Fernandez (2 years ago)
Interesting church from the late Romanesque and early Gothic periods. We were unable to visit the interior.

Belenos Alojamientos Turísticos (2 years ago)
Incredible Church that keeps and shows some of the most relevant images of the erotic Romanesque. Must visit

MARIA MONTERO (2 years ago)
Beautiful Church and great explanation by the guide, at no cost. Highly recommended, we missed knowing Tazones..?

Nuno Abreu (3 years ago)
A luta contra a vespa asiática, é de louvar a iniciativa fa Câmara Municipal de Villaviciosa.

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Tyniec Abbey

Tyniec Benedictine abbey was founded by King Casimir the Restorer probably around 1044. Casimir decided to rebuild the newly established Kingdom of Poland, after a Pagan rebellion and a disastrous Czech raid of Duke Bretislaus I (1039). The Benedictines, invited to Tyniec by the King, were tasked with restoring order as well as cementing the position of the State and the Church. First Tyniec Abbot was Aaron, who became the Bishop of Kraków. Since there is no conclusive evidence to support the foundation date as 1040, some historians claim that the abbey was founded by Casimir the Restorer’ son, King Boleslaw II the Generous.

In the second half of the 11th century, a complex of Romanesque buildings was completed, consisting of a basilica and the abbey. In the 14th century, it was destroyed in Tatar and Czech raids, and in the 15th century it was rebuilt in Gothic style. Further remodelings took place in the 17th and 18th centuries, first in Baroque, then in Rococo style. The abbey was partly destroyed in the Swedish invasion of Poland, and soon afterwards was rebuilt, with a new library. Further destruction took place during the Bar Confederation, when Polish rebels turned the abbey into their fortress.

In 1816, Austrian authorities liquidated the abbey, and in 1821-1826, it was the seat of the Bishop of Tyniec, Grzegorz Tomasz Ziegler. The monks, however, did not return to the abbey until 1939, and in 1947, remodelling of the neglected complex was initiated. In 1968, the Church of St. Peter and Paul was once again named the seat of the abbot. The church itself consists of a Gothic presbytery and a Baroque main nave. Several altars were created by an 18th-century Italian sculptor Francesco Placidi. The church also has a late Baroque pulpit by Franciszek Jozef Mangoldt.

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